Baseball Scores Program Record Runs in 19-8 Victory

Baseball April 06, 2010 CSU Bakersfield Athletic Communications

Baseball Takes On USC and Cal State Northridge

THIS WEEK
The Roadrunners face their third Pac-10 opponent of the season, traveling to USC for a single game on Wednesday, Apr. 7 at 6:30 p.m. The squad returns briefly to Bakersfield to host Cal State Northridge on Friday, Apr. 9 at 2:30 p.m. The Roadrunners and Matadors then complete the series at Northridge, facing off on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.

ON DECK
On Tuesday, Apr. 13, the Roadrunners travel to Fresno State for their final match-up of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Beiden Field. CSUB then returns to Hardt Field for a three-game set against Big West member UC Davis. Play begins on Friday, Apr. 16 at 2:30 p.m. The teams also face off at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

LIVE STATS
Live statistics are available for all four CSUB games this week. The link for both home and away games can be found on the baseball schedule page at GoRunners.com.

ON THE AIR
Wednesday's game at USC will be broadcast live on ESPN 1230 AM and via the internet at espnbakersfield.com. ESPN 1230 Program Director Corey Costelloe will provide the play-by-play from Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCH-UPS
WEDNESDAY, APR. 7, 2010
CSUB: TBA
USC: TBA

FRIDAY, APR. 9, 2010
CSUB: TBA
CSUN: TBA

SATURDAY, APR. 10, 2010
CSUB: TBA
CSUN: TBA

SUNDAY, APR. 11, 2010
CSUB: TBA
CSUN: TBA

'RUNNER REPORT
Riding the high of their series split at Washington State, the Roadrunners matched a then-season high of 20 hits on their way to a 14-2 win over Stony Brook University last Wednesday.

Then came three straight dog fights against valley rival Fresno State. While the Roadrunners took an early lead in all three match-ups, they could not hang on and the Bulldogs rallied late on all three occasions, to sweep the series, 10-4, 13-9 and 13-9.

The Roadrunners hit well (.311), collecting a season-high 21 hits in Saturday's loss, and played solid defense (four errors in three games). But the pitching staff averaged a 10.33 ERA and allowed Fresno State to hit .390 for the series.

SCOUTING USC
USC is 14-14 on the year and 2-4 in the Pac-10. Last week the Trojans won a midweek game over Loyola Marymount, 9-7, then dropped two of three against then No. 21 Oregon State.

Four Trojans are batting over .300, led by Ricky Oropesa and Matt Foat, who each hit at a .333 clip. Oropesa, a sophomore infielder, also leads the team in hits (37), runs (26), doubles (10), home runs (9) ad RBIs (29). Foat, a sophomore outfielder, has 35 hits, including nine doubles, one triple and five home runs.

USC's pitching staff carries a combined 4.56 ERA. Collectively, they have recorded 209 strikeouts to go along with 91 walks and hold opponents to a .278 batting average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. USC
The Roadrunners and Trojans will meet for the first time this week.

SCOUTING CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE
Cal State Northridge enters the week with a 16-10 record, but will play a doubleheader against Pepperdine on Tuesday before facing the Roadrunners this weekend.

The Matadors can put runs on the board, averaging 8.23 earned runs a game while batting .323 as a team. C.J. Belanger leads the way with a .394 average (39-for-99), his hits including seven doubles and one home run. A large chunk of CSUN's power comes from Dominic D'Anna (.392, 11 2B, 5 HR, 29 RBIs) and Ryan Pineda (.312, 5 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 38 RBIs).

On the mound, the Matador pitching staff holds a 5.96 ERA. Opponents are hitting .304 against CSUN, which has recorded 162 strikeouts to go along with 86 walks.

SERIES HISTORY VS. CS NORTHRIDGE
The Roadrunners and Matadors met twice in 2009, with both close match-ups going in favor of Cal State Northridge. The Matadors won 3-1 in Northridge and 3-0 in Bakersfield, the latter despite a 10-strikeout, complete-game performance by CSUB's Mickey Jannis.

YOUNGER NO MORE
Kevin Younger is the youngest member of the 2010 Roadrunners squad (born July 15, 1991), but the freshman outfielder had a big time performance last weekend against Fresno State. The Liberty High School grad went 4-for-9 (.444) with a double, run scored and RBI. In Saturday's series finale against Fresno State, the rookie collected three hits, including an RBI-double that put the Roadrunners ahead 7-5 in the fourth inning.

SATURDAY STRUGGLES...SNAPPED
The Roadrunners won back-to-back series over Nevada and San Jose State, but struggled at the plate during each Saturday game, collecting just six hits in each game and totalling three runs. CSUB put an end to that trend at Washington State (Mar. 27), banging out 30 hits for 21 runs in a doubleheader split with the Cougars. The Roadrunners continued to put bat on ball this past Saturday against Fresno State, collecting 14 hits.

MIDWAY POINT
CSUB's Friday game against Cal State Northridge will mark the midpoint of the 2010 season. Two outtings shy of the 28th game, the Roadrunners stand at 12-16 overall. At last year's midpoint, 25 games in, the Roadrunners held a 5-20 overall record. In that 25th game, they broke a 13-game losing streak with a 4-3 walk-off win over then defending national champion Fresno State. CSUB went on to go 8-17 in the second half of the season to finish 13-37.

Currently the Roadrunners are just one win away from tying last year's win total, and two away from breaking it.

BRANDON AT BAT
Brandon Boren's season-opening hitting streak ended at eight games, but the senior second baseman is rolling on a new streak, safely recording a hit in each of the last 14 outings. He has 16 multiple-hit games and continues to lead the team in batting average (.446), hits (50), runs (21), on base percentage (.523) and walks (15). He is also second in at bats (112), doubles (9), slugging percentage (.527) and RBIs (20).

MEDINA'S MUSCLE
Martin Medina has 37 hits on the year, 18 of which have been for extra bases. He leads the Roadrunners in doubles (10), home runs (8), RBIs (32) and slugging percentage (.623). Last weekend against Fresno State, Medina went 5-for-14, including a double and a home run. He also scored three runs and tallied four RBIs. For reference, as a rookie in 2009, Median finished the season (50 games) with 55 hits, 13 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 40 RBIs.

RECORD BREAKER
Junior RHP Mike McCarthy gave up four runs in the first two innings on Mar. 14 against Nevada, but got into a rhythm soon after, finishing the day with a school record 11 strikeouts. He accomplished the feat in just six innings of work and moved his season total to 25 in 21.1 innings. McCarthy's 11 Ks bested Mickey Jannis' mark of 10, set on May 19, 2009, in a 3-0 loss to Cal State Northridge.

ONE HIT, FIVE RBIs
Joey Mills had just one hit in the Mar. 19 win over San Jose State, but also tallied five RBIs in the game. The senior center fielder drove in two runs on a triple, then sent two runs home on a pair of sacrifice flies and one more on a bases-loaded walk. Batting out of the nine hole, Mills is currently hitting nearly 100 points higher (.344) than his 2009 average (.247).

BALL CONTROL
One major area of concern last season was the pitching staff's strikeout to walk ratio. During that inaugural season, the Roadrunners finished with a 1.2 strikeout to walk ratio (322 K, 261 BB). Through 22 games this season, the Roadrunners' ratio is nearly doubled, as they have tallied 2.2 strikeouts for every walk allowed (177 K, 80 BB). Those figures have helped the staff carry a 4.43 ERA so far this year, as opposed to last season's 7.63 ERA.

COMPLETE GAME(S)
Mickey Jannis and Mike McCarthy both recorded complete-game victories against Washington State, the first two complete-game performances of the season and the fifth and sixth of CSUB's young history.

Jannis struck out three and scattered nine hits for five runs (four earned) in CSUB's 9-5 win on Mar. 27). The complete game was the second of the senior's career. He recorded his first complete game in a 3-0 loss to Cal State Northridge on May 19, 2009.

On Mar. 28, McCarthy fanned four and scattered eight hits, but his defense played flawlessly and the Cougars stranded 10 runners for CSUB's first-ever shutout win.

WALK-OFF
Brandon Boren recorded the second walk-off hit of his Roadrunner career on Feb. 28 against Central Michigan. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the senior second baseman, sent a bloop hit just past first base to score Kevin Younger and give CSUB the 7-6 come-from-behind win.

Boren's first walk-off hit as a Roadrunner took place back on Apr. 8, 2009, when his single down the right-field line scored JJ Henry, giving CSUB a 3-2 win over then defending College World Series champion Fresno State.

EXTRA INNINGS
The Roadrunners have played just four extra innings games in their one-plus seasons of existence. After dropping their first-ever extra inning game, a 7-6 final in 11 innings to Buffalo (Mar. 9, 2009), they came back with a 9-7, 15-inning walk-off win over UC Riverside (Apr. 11, 2009).

Through 26 games this season, the Roadrunners have played two extra-inning game, falling 8-4 to St. Mary's (CA) on Feb. 26 and 13-9 to Fresno State on Apr. 2.

FIVE-HIT OUTING
As part of his 12-for-20 performance on opening weekend, Brandon Boren tied his own program record with five hits in one game. He went 5-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs scored in the second game of the doubleheader on Feb. 20 against Air Force. Those numbers are an exact match to his performance last year in CSUB's 17-12 win over Fresno State on Apr. 7. He is the only Roadrunner to achieve five hits in one game.

TOGETHER AGAIN
Bakersfield is the fourth school coaches Bill Kernen and Jody Robinson have worked at together. The two were assistants at Cal State Fullerton in the late 1970's through 1981. During that time, the Titans, who had just made the transition to Division I in 1975, earned five NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the College World Series and a national championship title in 1979. They also teamed up briefly in 1988, both serving as assistants to former Titan Head Coach Augie Garrido, this time at the University of Illinois. In 1991, Kernen was in his second season as the head coach at Cal State Northridge, leading the Matadors through the transition from DII to DI play. Robinson joined the staff as an assistant coach, helping CSUN to a 44–18–1 record, the West Regional championship game and a top 10 ranking in the final NCAA Division I poll in its first season of DI play.

HARDT FIELD
Coming from the 99 Freeway (north or south) exit at Ming Ave. and proceed WEST to Haggin Oaks Blvd. (approximately four miles). Turn right on Haggin Oaks to Camino Media. Turn left on Camino Media. Turn right into campus on Roadrunner Drive and park in Lot E or I. Hardt Field is located west of Lot E.

COLLECT YOUR BASEBALL TRADING CARDS
Collect the Official 2010 CSUB Baseball Trading Card set when six different cards are being unveiled at each remaining Saturday home contests. The first 100 fans through the gate each day will receive one set of six cards. Fans looking to collect the entire set must be one of the first 100 fans at every Saturday home game.

The giveaway began two weeks ago and continues on Apr. 3 when CSUB hosts Fresno State. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. and first pitch is 1 p.m.

The remaining card giveaway dates include Saturday, Apr. 17 versus UC Davis and Saturday, May 15 versus University of the Pacific. All Saturday games begin at 1 p.m. with gates opening at 11:30 a.m.

LITTLE LEAGUE DISCOUNT
Any Bakersfield area little leaguer 13 and under will receive $1 admission to all remaining home Sunday Roadrunner baseball games when accompanied by a paying adult. Little league players, who must be in uniform to receive the discount, may also have the opportunity to join the Roadrunners on the field for the national anthem. Visit GoRunners.com for more information.

NEED MORE INFO?
For all of the most up-to-date information about CSUB Baseball and all other Roadrunner sports, visit GoRunners.com.

Print Friendly Version